A Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools employee is facing two felony charges after police say he had inappropriate physical contact with a juvenile student during a school event last Sunday. Charlotte-Mecklenburg police identified the man as 36-year-old Quinto Owens and said their sexual assault unit secured arrest warrants following the investigation.
CMPD said the alleged inappropriate physical contact with a juvenile student occurred during a school event on October 25, according to qcnews.com. The department's sexual assault unit investigated the allegation and obtained warrants for Owens' arrest, and he was ultimately charged with two counts of felony indecent liberties with a student by a school administrator. Separately, the Charlotte Observer reported that police received information Sunday about the inappropriate physical contact by Owens against the student.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools confirmed that Owens worked at Garinger High School and said he has been suspended with pay while the matter is addressed, per the same qcnews.com report. The district did not specify his exact job title at the school. As first reported by WBTV, Garinger High Principal Shannon Clemons said the school administration is working closely with district leaders, CMS police and CMPD on the situation.
Principal Says Safety Remains Top Priority
Clemons said the school could not share additional details about the situation while the investigation continues, according to WBTV's reporting. She added that student and staff safety and well-being remain the school's top priority. The district has not released further information about the nature of the alleged contact or the student involved.
A separate, lower-confidence arrest listing from a third-party booking site identified the person arrested as Quinto Sentel Owens and dated the arrest to October 27 in Mecklenburg County, a detail that differs from the October 25 date CMPD gave for the alleged incident itself. Hoodline is noting both accounts rather than resolving the discrepancy, since the underlying sourcing for the booking listing could not be independently verified.
How North Carolina Law Treats These Cases
North Carolina statute G.S. 14-202.4 addresses indecent liberties between a teacher and student present at the same school, classifying the offense as a felony under the circumstances described in the law. A separate 2023 session-law excerpt, found in the North Carolina General Assembly's records, references differing felony classification language, so the precise charge level tied to this case has not been independently confirmed against the full statute and charging documents.
State law also includes a reporting requirement for school-employee misconduct. Part 3B of G.S. 115C-326.20, titled Reporting misconduct of licensed school employees, is cited in state records.
Part of a Broader Pattern in North Carolina Schools
Cases like this one are not isolated. Then-State Superintendent Catherine Truitt said in 2023 that an average of 20 North Carolina teachers a year were losing their licenses or having them suspended because of sexual misconduct with students, according to newsobserver.com. Truitt also said that from January 2016 through October 2022, 124 teacher licenses statewide were suspended, revoked or voluntarily surrendered for the same reason, and that 20 nonlicensed school employees were convicted of sexual misconduct with students over that same period. She said news reports had identified more than 50 North Carolina school employees who had been charged with or were actively under investigation for sexual misconduct against students, though those figures reflect 2023 reporting rather than a current total.
In a separate case this month, a lawsuit filed in Wake County Superior Court named former coach Ranier Rackley and the Wake County school system as defendants, alleging he grabbed and groped a female student in his classroom at Rolesville High School in November 2025. Rackley has denied the allegations through his attorney, the Observer reported, and Wake County said he remained in paid status without teaching, coaching or attending school from November 18 through June 15.
No additional details have been released about the status of the investigation into Owens or whether he has entered a plea. CMS has not announced further disciplinary action beyond his paid suspension as the case proceeds.
